Line funds Mobike to put bike-sharing in messaging app
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Photo credit: walkingsky / 123RF.
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Chinese bike-share startup Mobike today got a boost from Japanese social media giant Line.
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Line, maker of a messaging app popular in Japan, has invested in Mobike’s Japan subsidiary, taking a less than 20 percent stake for an undisclosed sum, the two firms announced this afternoon.
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The move comes four months after Mobike rolled out its dockless bikes into select Japanese cities. The service now covers 200 cities around the world.
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Line has 71 million users in Japan.
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Line boss Takeshi Idezawa (left) with Mobike founder Hu Weiwei. Photo credit: Mobike.
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“Line users in cities where Mobike is present will be able to unlock a Mobike simply by scanning the QR code on the bike with their Line app, and pay using their Line Pay account or other payment methods,” said the Japanese firm in a statement.
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Mobike is similarly accessible in China inside WeChat, the messaging app with nearly a billion users.
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Mobike founder and president Hu Weiwei described Line as the “perfect partner” owing to its huge social media reach.
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“Our ambition in Japan is to work with industry-leading Japanese partners like Line, as well as local governments and communities, to bring Mobike to more cities in Japan and to set the global standard for bike-sharing,” she added.
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Ofo, Mobike’s archrival, has also expanded to Japan, where its local buddy is telco giant Softbank – though that partnership doesn’t involve financial backing. Ofo is aiming to be in 200 cities globally by the end of the year.
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Updated 24 hours after publishing: “20 percent” is now changed to “less than 20 percent.”
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